Dell Aero launched for AT&T US, runs outdated Android 1.5

The Dell Aero was announced half an year ago but it's only now that it finally hits the US market. While it's a real cutie and packs some pretty nice hardware, it's the outdated software package that will probably turn down many potential customers.

Dell unveiled the Aero back in March 2010 and even then nobody was happy to hear that the smartphone is offering plain Cupcakes instead of Eclairs. And now, when it finally made it to the stores, the Android OS version is still the same ol' v1.5

And what is more important, it still isn't clear whether and when the thing will get an update to a more recent version of the Android platform. It's true not every body needs the latest and greatest OS version but from where we stand, ver. 1.6 is the absolute minimum in the Android world. Most Android apps (incl. Google Maps Navigation, for instance) are simply not compatible with Android 1.5.

Despite the software woes, the sleek Dell Aero weighs only 104 grams and is 11.7mm thin. Under the hood it's got a 624MHz processor, 2GB microSD card, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth support as well as an inbuilt GPS receiver.

The Aero has a 3.5-inch capacitive touchscreen of the uncommon nHD resolution. That's yet another strange decision made by Dell and it may have a poor impact on application compatibility.

The Dell Aero has just started selling and if the outdated Android version or the odd screen resolution don't bother you, you could purchase one straight away straight from Dell. It costs 100 USD dollars with a new 2-year contract with AT&T and 300 US dollars without a contract. AT&T should have in stock soon, but for now Dell's online shop is the only place to get the Aero.